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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27384394">You're the one I follow [part I]</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/energie_vie/pseuds/energie_vie'>energie_vie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Magnetic [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Holidays, Mutual Pining, POV Nile Freeman, Pining, Post-Movie: The Old Guard (2020), Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:00:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,261</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27384394</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/energie_vie/pseuds/energie_vie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"She's excited as hell and she can't wait to finish the dishes to go pack and then she wonders what flight Booker has managed to find and then it hits her. She's going on holiday with him. Just the two of them. For ten days. God help her."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Booker | Sebastien le Livre/Nile Freeman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Magnetic [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987831</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>115</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You're the one I follow [part I]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>As usual, this can be read as a standalone, though there are slight references to the previous work (Take me out).</p><p>As not-usual, this is part one of a two-part story, some kind of prologue, if you will, for the actual holiday, which is going to be part two and is currently in progress. As a quick fyi, I'll be focusing more on their interactions rather than on the actual location.</p><p>And again as usual, the title is taken from Follow by Crystal Fighters because I can't for the life of me come up with meaningful ones on my own :D</p><p>EDIT: cover art at the end of the story by the wonderful StarWatcher.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the first time since she's started her new life Nile feels exhausted and not in a physical way. <em>That</em> happens more often than she'd like but it's nothing a good night's sleep can't fix. However, being immortal doesn't really help with mental fatigue and Nile is totally drained: of empathy, of compassion, of patience. She needs to recharge her batteries, they all need it and if no one else will say it, she will.</p><p>'I think we need some time off,' she declares boldly while they're all having dinner, interrupting whatever conversation was taking place that she hadn't been paying any attention to.</p><p>Five pairs of eyes turn towards her but she stands her ground unwaveringly. It's been fourteen months since Lisbon - not that she's keeping track - and she's lost count of how many countries she's been to in the meantime, some of them twice or even three times. She's also lost count of how many times she's died, which is something that unsettles her deeply. They're currently in Odessa, having brought down yet another human trafficking ring and she really needs to step on the brakes before she has a mental breakdown.</p><p>'Tired of us, kid?' Andy smirks, but her eyes are also tired.</p><p>'A bit, yeah,' Nile grins. 'But seriously now, just a little time off, to reset ourselves. Don't you think?'</p><p>Surprisingly, or maybe not, they all nod and smile. She hadn't really expected them to disagree but she's all the more happy that they're obviously on the same page.</p><p>'How much time did you have in mind?' Quynh asks.</p><p>'I don't know, a week?'</p><p>'What day is today?' Andy asks.</p><p>'Twenty-first,' Nile replies.</p><p>'Alright, let's make it ten days. We meet in Lyon on the first.'</p><p>It's settled, so they all return to dinner. From the corner of her eye Nile notices Booker watching her closely. He hasn't been his regular self either over the past couple of weeks, so she thinks this short holiday will do him good as well.</p><p>After dinner Nile offers to clear the table and do the dishes. She smiles to herself while she listens to Joe and Nicky heatedly debating whether to go to Barcelona or Madrid. In the end they decide to do both. Andy and Quynh plan to head south to Beirut and they're already packing since their flight leaves in four hours. </p><p>'Need help?' Booker asks from behind her and Nile literally jumps.</p><p>'You know, your stealth is quite unnerving,' she grins.</p><p>'Impressive, I know,' he smiles back but there's something a bit off about his entire demeanour. 'So, need help?' he asks again.</p><p>'Nope, I'm good. I could use the company, though.'</p><p>Booker leans back on the counter and shoves his hands in his pockets.</p><p>'What's the plan?'</p><p>'Well, don't laugh but I've always wanted to see Dracula's castle and since we're actually quite close..'</p><p>'You know he's not real, right?' he teases.</p><p>'He's not?' Nile gasps, widening her eyes, only to promptly roll them afterwards. 'Anyway, I'm not sure how to get to Romania. I mean, there's a direct flight to Bucharest, which is cool and all but there's also a train, which is fucking awesome because I haven't been on a train for ages!' she exclaims excitedly, then carries on in the same breath. 'Except it's not direct and the journey takes about eighteen hours and I don't know, it kind of feels like a waste of time since we have to be in Lyon in ten days and either way, somehow I don't see you handling eighteen hours on a train,' she finishes her little diatribe with a giggle.</p><p>Booker is staring at her, mouth slightly open. 'You want me to come with you?'</p><p>'Well, yeah. I thought it would be fun. We could also go hiking, I've read there are some awesome trails and we could also...'</p><p>Booker is still blinking slowly and Nile slows down, feeling herself heating up.</p><p>'I mean, you don't have to, obviously, I just.. thought you'd like to and- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have presumed,' she sighs, straining to hide her disappointment. 'Anyway, where are <em>you</em> going?' she asks in a cheery tone that sounds horribly fake to her own ears.</p><p>This seems to snap Booker out of his stupor because he grins brightly.</p><p>'With you, of course. Sorry, you just took me by surprise. I had assumed you'd want a break from all of us.'</p><p>'And I had assumed it was implied that we'd be going together,' she grins back just as brightly. She glosses over his last sentence because there's no way she can explain why she never wants a break from him and luckily, he doesn't push it either.</p><p>'So,' Nile laughs, 'train or plane?'</p><p>'As picturesque as a train ride might sound and as much as I want to see you happy, there's no way in hell I'm spending eighteen hours of my life stuck in a metal caterpillar!'</p><p>There he goes again, making her flustered without even trying. It would be annoying if it weren't also downright addictive.</p><p>'You should write poetry, I bet you could give Joe a run for his money,' she mutters sarcastically. </p><p>'Who says I'm not?' Booker asks innocently.</p><p>Nile just lifts an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.</p><p>'You don't know <em>everything</em> about me, darling,' he smirks. 'Maybe I'm spending my nights gazing at the moon, waxing lyrical about the futility of existence and the irreparable damage done by time. Maybe I'm painting with words one's burden of being unable to escape their fate. Maybe-'</p><p>'What's wrong with him?' Andy interrupts his monologue. 'Did you hit him in the head or something?'</p><p>'Not yet,' Nile mutters.</p><p>'Who are we hitting?' Joe is also in the kitchen now and it's starting to feel crowded. </p><p>'You know what, this actually hurts, especially coming from you, dearest,' Booker whines dramatically. 'I'm gonna go look for plane tickets. I'm assuming we want to leave as early in the morning as possible?'</p><p>Nile just hums in approval, focused on the mountain of dishes in the sink. </p><p>'Thought so. Do you want me to rent a car as well?'</p><p>This time she turns around, pondering for a few moments. 'You know what? No. In my experience, winging it is the best approach,' she grins naughtily and Booker actually scrunches up his face in delight.</p><p>'I love it when you quote me back,' he sighs, dropping a kiss to her temple, then turning to leave the kitchen. </p><p>Nile stares longingly at his retreating back until she hears someone clearing their throat. Right, she'd forgotten all about Andy and Joe. She blinks twice, ignoring their identical smirks and turns back to the sink.</p><p>'So,' Joe says and leaves it hanging in the air for a couple of seconds. 'Where are you two going, if we may ask?'</p><p>'Romania,' she says neutrally.</p><p>'Aha. Cool, Romania's nice. Cool indeed. Very cool.'</p><p>'Joe, leave her be,' Andy interjects and Nile feels a bit grateful. 'She can't handle the dishes, swooning over Book and your snarky comments all at once.'</p><p>So much for being grateful.</p><p>'Get out, both of you! It's a small kitchen and I'm getting claustrophobic.'</p><p>The two idiots snicker on their way out and Nile is left alone with her thoughts. She's excited as hell and she can't wait to finish the dishes to go pack and then she wonders what flight Booker has managed to find and then it hits her. She's going on holiday with him. Just the two of them. For ten days. God help her.</p><p>---</p><div class="center">
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm also on <a href="https://energievie.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> in case you want to say hi :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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